advice on moving a cat across the country?

Question

I have an older cat that i need to move from Texas to Georgia. I don't think she'll tolerate the trip very well. She sees her kennel transporter as the great satan. Does anyone have experience with sedating a cat at the vet? how long it lasts? or better yet, is there a way to just ship her across the country? I wouldn't even know where to start looking for a way to do this, but I think it would be best for her to get it over with quickly. Any tips would be appreciated. thanks.

thanks for all the good advice. I appreciate it a lot. I don't know what the best answer should be, so I'll let others vote. Thanks again though.

Answer 1

I just sedated my cats for a move. The vet gave me pills, Aproximine? Something like that? Anyway, they worked great, the cats looked drunk but unconcerned for... at least 6 hours, I'd say. And you can re-dose them as needed. Honestly, I think a long sedated trip would be safer and less stressful than flying them anywhere. Lots of animals die during air transit, and it's very stressful- they're basically stuffed in the cargo hold with the luggage. Not a nice place to be.

Answer 2

oooohh, olololo "the great satan"..that's funny....
Yes I did this when my cat was 15, Ks to ID in a CAR...
My sister flew out and helped me drive back pulling a rental uhaul...We had a great time and IF I had it to do over I would have sedated my cat...Ask the vet for a liquid...something really mild...she (the cat) doesn't have to sleep the whole way just be "mellowed" out a little to handle the stress...If you can't get the eye dropper in the corner of her mouth you can put it in her "wet" food. Whatever you do DON'T take her out of the carrier unless you are inside a hotel room or something so you won't lose her anywhere along the way.
My Amee,,,,she's very vocal...she meows at everything like your having a conversation...We left Ks on a Fri (7am) and arrived Sat (8:30pm) Amee actually got hoarse from all her "talking" The one time we stopped for a nap she shut up a little while and as soon as we were back on the road she'd started in again...Sometimes when we stopped I got out a box and litter and water for her...She's a very amiable pet..a treasure and very well behaved. She comes when I call her and fetches like a puppy.. I tell her sometimes I wonder "whose your daddy" Like are you sure your 100% cat.??? lol She'll curl up in my arms for a nap too...And if she does I'm right behind her and knock off as well. She'll be 19 this summer and she's doing just fine.
She's a purebred OCICAT...(Abby & Siamese)
P.S. Your pet is like a family member...I wouldn't trust anyone else to "ship her across the country" she'll be less upset if she's with you. Too many unknows out there as far as shipping her ahead of you on a plane or something plus the cost of it might be prohibited...

Answer 3

You may want to fly her and have a kennel on the other end pick her up at the airport. Not unheard of we do it all the time at our cat kennel in Oregon. You will want to prepare her pet carrier so it will be safe for cargo travel.

Continental Airlines has great policy for pets they have special Cargo buildings on the runway area that hold the pets to the very last minute. Pets are loaded last on and first off and then kept in these special aircondioned cargo buildings until they take them to the regular cargo office. You may want to get DryFur pads for her carrier so if she has and accident she will not even know it. The last thing you need is more trama with the pet carrier. Also make sure you have her carrier secure this is the no.1 reason pets are hurt lost or killed. Not because of the Cargo hold or the airlines but because pet owners supply cheap unsecure pet carriers. http://www.saferpettravel.com

Answer 4

There are cat calming pills you can get from the vet. I moved with my small family from Tenessee to California to Oregon - driving cross-country with my cat. I gave the cat 1/4 of the calming pill (the same that I use for him when we fly overseas). It does make him sleepy, but it doesn't actually "sedate" him coz he's awake but mellow. You are really better off taking the cat with you. To help your cat get over her fear of the cat carrier, just leave the carrier on the floor with the door open for several days before your actual trip. This will de-sensitize your cat to the "satan" and she'll see for herself that it's really nothing to be scared off. Then a day before you leave, go get the calming tabs from the vet and follow his instructions presicely. When kitty is mellowed out, put her in her carrier. Line it with towels and cover it with another towel to prevent her from seeing the moving landscape - that freaks a cat out. NEVER let kittyout of the carrier until you are absolutely certain she cannot escape (whether in car or motel room).
At the end of every 8 hr drive, I used to check intoa pet-freindly motel (Motel 6), prepare the litter box, bring the cat carrier inside the room, lock all doors and windos, open carrier door and the cat goes straight to his litter box. He does a few sniffing about while I prepare his CANNED cat food (wet food solves any possible dehydration problems). In the morning I feed the cat again, tuck him in his carrier and load everything back in the car

You'll find that your cat will meow and meow off and on for an hour or so and then she'll sleep. Play music - the white noise helps calm cats.

Happy trip!

Answer 5

I have traveled many, many times with cats across the country. I usually gave my cat a half pill of Dramamine and she was calm for about 5 hours. Before you do this check with your veterinarian. Also you can check into buying a plane ticket for her...Costs a lot though. Just go to your veterinarian and ask if you can get some sort of tranquilizer, put her in her kennel and go. She might have a rough start, but they usually calm do quickly. Good Luck

Answer 6

I wouldn't ship her. Its recommended not to sedate animals in cargo holds and the like because the mortality rate is not good. I drove three cats over 1000 miles half way across the US. Its not impossible. Just plan to stay at a pet friendly hotel mid-trip. The night before I stopped their food at 8 and water at 12 midnight. When we left in the morning I crated them and covered the crate with a blanket so it would remain dark in there. Mid-morning one of my cats was howling. I thought maybe he had to use the potty so I put his litter box in a big black garbage bag and tried to slip him in there to use it... well, he freaked so I said forget about it and put him back in his carrier and kept going. I guess he didn't have to go, he was just unhappy about the trip. They cried until noon the first day and then slept the rest of the trip. I stopped at 9pm that night and gave them all the food and water they wanted until mid-night and put their litter box in the bathroom for them. It took a while for them to settle down in the new place.. Then drove again the next day until we got to our destination. The slept the whole time the second day, not a peep from them. Additionally, I would not have denied their food and water for another day because I don't think it would have been good for them. There is really no easy way, in short. But I think driving is probably somewhat less traumatic.

Answer 7

My sister moved from Nashville, TN to Arlington, VA with 2 cats and she had to get a tranquilizer from the vet for both of them. It lasted through the trip. Make sure you keep them in a carrier, though!! Cats roaming in a car is very dangerous!

Answer 8

We had to move from Minnesota back to Wisconsin several years ago. We drove a U-Haul towing a car packed with stuff...and two cats. We put the cats in the towed vehicle. They found little hiding places among the boxes. Left them some food and water. They made it thru just fine. Don't think there is any need to cage kitty. She will complain at first but eventually settle down somewhere in the car. We actually had one who managed to get into the glove compartment once. Thought we lost her on the way! Never sedated any of them.